Noice Comparison: T42 vs. Asus

[Cedric]

Hallo,

I've bought for a time ago an IBM Thinkpad T42 (UC2M1GE). A main reason for buying this notebook was the high quality way of construction, e.g. the keyboard. Another reason was the silent noice of the notebook. The only audible - bothering - noice was the HDD noice from the bottom right corner. After talking to some people I get the explanation for this noice: it depends on the relative 'bad' construction of the HDD bay. Also exchanging the origin HDD for e.g. a Fujitsu HDD don't solve this noicy problem.

Now I have worked for a short time with a ASUS notebook. And what shell I say: I can't believe my ears. You hear absolutly nothing, nothing. But I have to remark, that I love my Thinkpad, it's amazing. If I only could get rid of the bothering HDD noice...

Any explanation why the ASUS notebook is in comparison to the Thinkpad so silent, really silent?

[danda821]

You mean you can hear the noise of the same hard drive in T42, but not in Asus? The noise you mean is the platter rotation noise?

[Cedric]

It's not the same hard drive in the ASUS notebook as in the IBM Thinkpad. In the T42 there's a 80 GB Hitachi, in the ASUS there's a 40 GB HDD, but I don't know the exactly type.

The T42 is mine, the ASUS belongs to a kinswoman. I've heard, that the HDD bay of the Thinkpad isn't constructed in the same high quality way as the other elements. So I simply have to live with this noice from the bottom right corner. A friend told me, that the Fuijtsu HDD 100 GB is one of the most silent HDDs exists in the market. But exchanging the HDDs doesn't solve this noicy problem, because it's not the HDD itself, it's the HDD bay.

When I heard the ASUS notebook, I'm really impressed. Absolutly no noice. You hear sometimes HDD access operations. But so silent, it seems to me like a dream working with such a notebook.

If you have any hints or tipps, how I can get rid of this noice, please let me know

[danda821]

I did similar comparison.
Hitachi 5K100 40G in T42: no noise at all,even in very quiet room
Fujitsu 5400 80G in T42: can hear platter rotation noise in quiet room,
but head access noise is very low, hard to hear.

So I guess there is nothing wrong with the hard drive bay. Maybe it is because 80G has two platters, 40G has only one platter.

[Cedric]

Hi,

thanks for your answer. You describe excactly my watchings. One notebook is really silent (ASUS, 40 GB) and the other notebook (T42, 80GB) isn't silent. I don't want to distend, the hdd noice is bothering, but tolerable.

If there's all fine with the hdd bay, you believe, I can get rid of the bothering noice thru an exchange of the HDD?

I get an advice, which hdd should be really silent: Fujitsu MHU2100AT

Any opinion? Which hdd (>= 80 GB) is really silent? If I can stop the bothering noice, the notebook will be - with one word - perfect.

[Troels]

This might make the decision easier... you can only compare two different drive noises this way (near the end of the document).

What model of Asus is it ? - there are many

[danda821]

The Fujitsu 80G I used is: MHV2080AH.
From the data sheet on fujitsu web site, this should be quieter than MHT.
MHV
Acoustic noise HDD Ready 28 dBA at 30 cm (typ.), 2.6 bels (typ.)
MHT
Acoustic noise HDD Ready 34 dBA at 30 cm (typ.), 2.8 bels (typ.)

Probably all 80G hard drives are not as quiet as 40G or 60G version.

[Cedric]

@Troels
The ASUS model is M6N, a number on the back is 91M67N-C-P14-4-5

@danda821
The most silent HDD found on the Fuijtsu website is MHV2100AT with acoustic noice 24 dBA, 2.3 bels.

@all
Let me take a summary:
a) the T42 hdd bay is fine.
b) the bothering noice from the bottom right corner is the hdd itself (platter rotation noise)
c) I can get rid of this noice thru exchanging the hdd

Because I don't have any experience with acoustic noices: how loud is 24 dBA, 2.3 bels?

I'm working in an absolutly silent room, so I hope, I can get the notebook just as well silent.